Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg urged party doubters to "enjoy"
being in power as he sought to quell internal concerns over his decision to
join the Tory-led coalition Government.

The Deputy Prime Minister conceded many activists remained nervous and that the joint administration was "not always easy" but insisted it was "finally putting liberal values at the heart of British government".

He launched a staunch defence of the power-sharing deal as he opened a potentially turbulent party conference in Liverpool on Saturday with a crowd-pleasing rally to launch the campaign for a 'yes' vote in next year's voting reform referendum.

Ditching the first-past-the-post system has been a key Lib Dem demand for years and securing agreement for a public vote on moving to the Alternative Vote (AV) to elect MPs was a key concession from the Tories.

But the leadership faces a series of challenges over policies where difficult compromises were struck, including education and Trident, and a slump in the party's poll ratings has fuelled concern among the membership.

Mr Clegg said that in the four months since June's election, he and fellow Lib Dem ministers had made "huge progress in delivering the changes you have campaigned for election after election, night after night, doorstep after doorstep".

"You had the courage to take the leap into the unknown, to take this party to government. Everything that has happened since has proved that you were right to do so," he went on.

"I know that being in this coalition still isn't always easy. We are a party that has always advocated pluralism - believing that politics can be better when different parties work together.

"But that doesn't mean that the nervousness some of us felt about going into government has disappeared overnight. The different impulses that, for many people here, pulled heads one way and hearts another, haven't simply vanished.

"But we've done something bold, exciting and unexpected.

"And, as a result, Liberal Democrats, things will never be the same for our party again."

Launching the party's formal support for the "Yes to Fairer Votes" campaign, Mr Clegg acknowledged that even that could fail to satisfy some party members as AV falls well short of the proportional representation systems they have always sought.

The referendum will be held next May and could further expose tensions within the coalition as the Conservatives will campaign for a "no" vote, and Tory MPs are leading opposition to the date picked for the public vote by Mr Clegg.

"I know AV may not be the favourite voting system of everyone here, but whether you prefer this, AV+, the single transferable vote or any another model, we all agree that AV is infinitely fairer than what we have at the moment," he said.

"First-past-the-post is not fit for purpose. It is a relic that deserves to be consigned to the past. Good MPs have nothing to fear from AV. Only those that take their constituents for granted do.

"So we say, vote 'Yes' in May. Yes to a more democratic system where MPs will need a majority of voters to support them. Yes to a system that compels MPs to spend less time with their duck houses and more time with their constituents.

"Yes to a system that means no MP has a safe seat for life.

"This is not about the Liberal Democrats. We don't know whether we will benefit from AV or not. It's about fair play, it's about real democracy and it's about putting people back in charge."

Although the party is enjoying its first taste of power for more than 60 years, there are deep concerns among the membership over the policies it has signed up to as part of the coalition deal with the Conservatives.

A record 6,200 delegates - a 40% increase on last year - have descended on Liverpool to pick over the political fallout.

Arriving in the city, Mr Clegg said he relished the "great opportunity" to explain the coalition's long-term plan to activists.

"It is wonderful to be here in Liverpool again. It is the first time that the Liberal Democrat party have got together at our conference since we entered into the coalition Government," he said.

"Everyone knows that we inherited a real mess from the previous Labour government and we have got to sort that, we have got to fix it. But once we do that, I think everyone will see over the coming five years that things will be getting better," he said.

"What we can do in this conference is to show people our plan to make things better in the United Kingdom."